Moms Demand Action Founder on What It Takes to Lead Change
Whether you're a manager trying to move your organization in a new direction, an entrepreneur seeking to fix a consumer pain point, or a non-profit leader working to improve society, it can be hard to turn your and others' passion for a cause into meaningful change. Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety advocacy group, shares how she channeled her anger over U.S. school shootings into an organization with more than 10 million supporters and a string of policy victories. She explains how to know when your desires, values, and skills align to tackle a challenge, how to build a coalition, and how to keep people motivated. Watts is the author of the book Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age.
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Harvard Business Review
5 days ago
- Harvard Business Review
Moms Demand Action Founder on What It Takes to Lead Change
Whether you're a manager trying to move your organization in a new direction, an entrepreneur seeking to fix a consumer pain point, or a non-profit leader working to improve society, it can be hard to turn your and others' passion for a cause into meaningful change. Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety advocacy group, shares how she channeled her anger over U.S. school shootings into an organization with more than 10 million supporters and a string of policy victories. She explains how to know when your desires, values, and skills align to tackle a challenge, how to build a coalition, and how to keep people motivated. Watts is the author of the book Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Yahoo
She got death threats after Harrison Butker post she didn't write. She's suing KC
A Kansas City communications staffer says her superiors ignored her requests when she asked that they clear her name after she was falsely accused of sending out a social media post last year that allegedly doxxed Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and then faced online harassment, vitriol and racist death threats. After she complained about their inaction, Andrea Watts said she was subjected to increasingly critical treatment at work in City Hall. She recently sued the city seeking monetary damages on the basis of those allegations. The city declined comment on the lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court, as officials do not discuss pending litigation. Watts said she felt threatened by the racist, sexist and violent posts directed toward her after she was falsely identified online as the person who posted a message on the city's X account in response to Butker's controversial speech at a college graduation ceremony last spring. 'Just a reminder that Harrison Butker lives in the City of Lee's Summit,' the May 15, 2024 posting on X said. While it was no secret that Butker lived in that Kansas City suburb and that the tweet did not give out his address, online commenters accused Kansas City of exposing Butker to personal risk and harassment by posting the name of the city where he lived. Many of the commenters accused the city of doxxing Butker after he gave a speech in which he expressed his conservative views on political and social issues, such as abortion and how be believes his wife is happier having sacrificed her career for becoming a homemaker. City officials deleted the post 40 minutes after it went up. Both the city's account and Mayor Quinton Lucas issued online apologies that night, agreeing that the post was inappropriate. The unnamed city employee who authored the post later lost their job. But in the immediate hours after the post was taken down, online furor grew. Watts, a social media specialist, and another female city staffer, were soon singled out for scorn by the online mob, despite having nothing to do with posting the tweet. Both are Black and were subjected to racist and misogynistic posts. They felt threatened when their own personal information was posted online. According to her lawsuit, Watts was identified through her Linked-In account. People posted messages that included her photo and photos of the entryway of one of her addresses 'and personal identifying information published for the purposes of threatening and harming' her. She got death threats. 'There is no hole deep enough, no woods deep enough for you to hide in,' one post read, according to the lawsuit. Another pictured a Black woman hanging from a tree in front of a photograph of the apartment building where Watts lived along with her full name and address. That night, she asked that the city post a statement 'right away to clear her name,' but nothing was done, the suit says. Two days later, on May 17, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey posted a letter to social media demanding records that would show who penned the Butker tweet. That same day as the harassment directed at the two women, Watt's unnamed co-worker sent an email to Mayor Quinton Lucas, the City Council and city manager asking that steps be taken to clear their names, as they felt scared from being subjected to the vile harassment on line. Lucas instead issued a general statement that day stating that some city employees were being falsely accused and harassed. But he did not mention Watts or the other woman by name and the harassment continued. He also sent a letter to Bailey, alleging that his on-line statement had contributed to the climate that led to the ongoing threats towards Black women employed by the city. The women were called the N word. Watts was singled out as 'a DEI hire' and a 'ghetto rat.' The lawsuit claims that the city's 'refusal to end the harassment and discrimination by publicly clearing' Watts' name and that of her co-worker reflected 'a selfish desire to prevent negative media and public attention that would harm the City's reputation and more importantly City Manager Brian Platt's and Assistant City Manager Melissa Kozakiewicz's reputations.' The names of Platt and Kozakiewicz are redacted in the public court record. Platt was fired as city manager this spring after the city lost a lawsuit filed by former communications director Chris Hernandez. The latter claimed he was demoted because he and Platt disagreed on the importance of telling the truth to the news media and public. Platt was focused on the city's image, while Hernandez insisted on being truthful, the suit said. Koazakiewicz oversees the city's communications office and remains a city employee. Due to threats of harm and the release of her personal information, Watts said she asked that the city find her temporary lodging until the internet storm blew over, but claims her request was denied. The city also refused to make any attempt to scrub her personal information from the internet after she requested it, the lawsuit says. She claims her worklife became hostile. She received increasing criticism about her job performance and other unfair treatment after complaining about how the city mishandled her situation. Watts is still employed with the city. She is seeking lost pay and future wages, as well as punitive damages, attorneys fees and other costs associated with preparing the case. She is represented by Erin Vernon and Lynne Bratcher, the lawyers who won the Hernandez whistleblower lawsuit. The City Council last month approved a $1.4 million final settlement that ends any further proceedings in that case. The other woman who was doxxed has also hired an attorney who specializes in employment discrimination, who says she will file a lawsuit in the next couple of weeks.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Yahoo
Fountain Hills Town Council members retaliate against local newspaper for its reporting
Fountain Hills Town Councilman Rick Watts felt insulted. He'd spent three hours at a public meeting discussing the town's budget and fire department needs in painstaking detail. Then, he read a news article the next day and saw a headline that, in his view, overly simplified the meeting. "Fountain Hills Town Council defers fire department budget plan," the headline read. It wasn't inaccurate. The town's fire chief had wanted more money to promote a few people. Those promotions would support a regional "automatic aid" program the town was applying for. If approved, Fountain Hills would be part of a regional network so that when a customer called, the nearest municipal fire department responds, regardless of town boundaries. The council approved the funding but delayed its start to January to reduce the cost in the current fiscal year. The problem with the headline, Watts said in an interview with The Arizona Republic, was it could "sound more egregious than it is." He didn't offer up an alternative, he just said it should have better represented the complexity of the discussion. Beyond the headline, the article from the Fountain Hill Times Independent did have an error: it reported that the promotions were required for the application. But they weren't. The error frustrated Watts. It also irritated Vice Mayor Hannah Larrabee, who had a growing list of grievances with the paper since she took office two and a half years earlier. So they decided to do something about it. As Larrabee put it, in an interview with The Republic, they decided to "send a message." That message has since raised eyebrows among First Amendment experts and advocates, who said the retaliation was "improper" and "disrespectful" to free speech and free press freedoms. Watts and Larrabee fired off emails to town staff in mid-April. They requested staff remove the desk at the back of the meeting room designated for reporters. They didn't dance around their motive. "Frankly, I am fed up with the Times partisan reporting and think it is time to remove the corner 'reporters' table," Watts wrote in an email to Town Manager Rachael Goodwin. "I do not wish to further encourage unbalanced reporting, and believe it is best if the Times Independent sits with the audience to allow for more chairs in that corner, making more room for the public," Larrabee wrote. In their letters, they elaborated on their frustration of "melodramatic" headlines, one-sided stories and being misquoted. They did not request to ban reporters. Having journalists sit among the audience wasn't a novel concept; most City Hall reporters in the Valley are not accommodated with designated tables. But the request upended a tradition that was in place for decades. Some town staff couldn't remember a time when there wasn't a press table. But by the end of the month, it was gone. Not all councilmembers were clued into the change — there was no vote on it. When Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis found out, she was furious. Watts and Larrabee were frustrated with the paper's error because they said it left readers with the impression that by deferring fire department funding, the council was willing to jeopardize the application for the program and, by extension, the community's safety. They were bombarded with accusations that the council didn't care about the fire department, they said. Watts said people should have been informed of the lengthy back and forth and deep consideration the council gave the issue. Yes, the council deferred funding. But in doing so, they had also approved new funding that didn't previously exist. The councilmembers' grievance was largely an issue of framing — the concept referring to how a reporter writes a story and which information is emphasized. Despite their frustration, neither Watts nor Larrabee requested corrections. They said they believed it would fall on deaf ears, though both acknowledged they had never been explicitly denied a correction from the paper. Watts, who took office in January, said he had never requested a correction. He was skeptical of reaching out because "the sentiment in town right now is that it's a very liberal paper, since it has new ownership. That, I have no basis for, other than hearsay." The Fountain Hills Times was purchased by Independent Newsmedia, Inc. USA in 2023 and became the Fountain Hills Times Independent. Through the changeover, all newsroom leadership and advertising staff remained, Managing Editor Ryan Winslett told The Republic. Watts also didn't like how the paper covered his campaign. There weren't inaccuracies, he said, "but not everything was included." Larrabee had made one correction request in the past. The paper said she worked for Turning Point USA, but actually she worked for the affiliated political action committee, Turning Point Action. The paper promptly corrected the article, which Larrabee acknowledged. But she had also requested a phone call to discuss opinion columns that mentioned her and which she wanted to respond to. She never got that call, she said. "That's what makes it a little bit difficult to talk about, because it's like, 'OK. He said you work for TPUSA and you work for TP Action. Who cares, right?' But it's like, I have 100 different little tiny instances," Larrabee said. The removal hasn't changed much for the paper, whose reporter still attends and covers meetings. "It's easier to take notes and manage documents during a busy meeting with a table, but its removal will have no real impact," Winslett said. The paper strives to be "accurate, thorough and down the middle in all of our reporting," he said. Fountain Hills Times Independent also follows a policy to "promptly correct all factual errors" upon notification, and offers a "right to reply" to anyone whom the paper writes about. "That fact is stated in every print edition of our paper," Winslett said. To Larrabee's claim of an unreturned call, Winslett said he didn't recall the request, "but I have always made myself available for such things." "But whether we're talking about two years ago or more recently, I can't address a perceived grievance if I'm not notified about it in the first place," he said. Kalivianakis asked about the table's removal at a meeting in early May. Goodwin informed her of the request from the councilmembers as well as Mayor Gerry Friedel. She was stunned, and asked why the change was made without a council vote. Goodwin did not explain, and neither she nor the town's communications manager responded to that specific question from The Republic. The mayor also did not respond to The Republic's repeated requests for comment. Kalivianakis was outraged. The local paper was a staple in the community and its reporter, she said, ate, shopped, worked and worshipped among them. This wasn't some agenda-driven outsider, she said. She wrote a column in the Fountain Hills Times Independent on May 28 blasting the decision. "This incident highlights disregard for transparency by our local officials. Punitive measures are meant to control, influence and silence news coverage and criticism by concerned private citizens," she wrote. She argued the table removal was retaliation. "Retaliation inherently has a chilling effect, making journalists and citizens hesitant to investigate controversial topics or criticize those in power. If journalists are reluctant to report on sensitive topics, the people regrettably pay the price," Kalvianakis wrote. Free press advocates and First Amendment experts likewise expressed concern. "Local governments don't have to roll out the red carpet for reporters. A physically designated space also isn't required for Arizona local journalists to do their jobs," said Chris Kline, President and CEO of the Arizona Media Association and Arizona Local News Foundation. "But small actions like this can send a big message, and when that message is frustration with coverage, it risks eroding openness in government.' Marc Randazza, the attorney who successfully represented the right-wing Gateway Pundit website in its lawsuit against Maricopa County after officials barred a writer from the outlet from attending an on-site election news conference, said, "When government acts this way, it obviously has something to hide. And even if all it has to hide is a lack of respect for the First Amendment, it needs to be called out." Gregg Leslie, executive director of Arizona State University's First Amendment Clinic, called the move "improper." "The government should not retaliate against people based on their viewpoint, their speech," Leslie said. "That is one of the grounds to sue for a civil rights violation." The table removal was not necessarily a violation of free press rights though, Leslie acknowledged. The town is under no legal obligation to provide a table for reporters. Watts and Larrabee both stressed this point, saying they had no intention to ever ban the press and, in fact, hoped for more reporters to provide the public a variety of perspectives. "I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Larrabee responded when The Republic asked about concerns of a chilling effect. The Republic asked these questions as part of a nationwide effort to put a spotlight on First Amendment issues. That three-year project, which includes reporters at The Republic, the Indianapolis Star, the Tallahassee Press Democrat, The Tennessean in Nashville and USA TODAY, is funded by the Freedom Forum's Local Press Initiative and Journalism Funding Partners, a nonprofit that works to increase the depth, diversity and sustainability of local journalism. Larrabee and Watts didn't shy away from the fact they hoped the decision would alter the paper's coverage. "It was simply to send a message of, 'Hey, if you start reporting honestly, then maybe we'll have a different situation," Larrabee said. "I don't care if they have a liberal lens. I really don't. But at least report it honestly." Leslie said more elected officials have wanted to clamp down on the press since the proliferation of online blogs that don't strive for objective reporting. "It leads to people saying, 'Well, I shouldn't have to put up with that,'" Leslie said. But the sentiment is wrong, he said. "I think we need to educate elected officials that yes, you should put up with a lot of criticism, even if you feel it's improper. Because people have a right to their opinions," Leslie told The Republic. Fountain Hills' fire chief did ultimately request a correction on the fire budget article. Winslett said they reviewed the request and made the change immediately. An editor's note was added to the bottom of the article, notifying readers. The paper doesn't plan to respond to the removal of the press table, which Winslett said its reporter had used for 20 years. "We will simply continue to cover the community's news, just as we have for more than 50 years," Winslett said. Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@ or by phone at 480-476-6116. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fountain Hills Town Council retaliates against newspaper over coverage
